Austin Town Hall

Creating a Top 50 Albums list is never easy.  You have to battle with what you think the world believes, and what you truly believe in your heart, to be solid jams.  We have even more trouble because we have to three writers, all who have different ideas, and we have to make those ideas fit into a neat box.  Well, we got it done, and honestly, our criteria was based on two things: how great we thought the album was, artistically speaking, and how long we listened to it without getting bored.  That’s it. It’s fool proof; you might not like it, but it’s our list, so here it is… Read More

This here is a story of heartbreak, a story of fallen heroes.  The Dutchess and the Duke made their way once again into Austin amongst strong praise for their recent release Sunset/Sunrise.  Our expectations were high, and we promoted the show as best we could, hoping many would see the greatness that was D&D.  Unfortunately, the night fell far short of our expectations, or mine at least.  Follow the jump for full review and photos.

Read More

Wanted to give everyone a quick reminder about our Dutchess & The Duke show at Mohawk tomorrow evening.  Don’t forget that doors open at 8 with music around 10.  Our original post about the show can be found by following this lovely link.  Also, check out our event on facebook(with some cool videos) or like it over on Do512.

We have to start this list off with a disclaimer.  We have three writers, all with different tastes, so the list should reflect that a little bit.  Also, these are our opinions, and by no means, are they meant to be seen as an “end all be all” to the question of what were the best songs of 2009.  That being said, we like our list quite a bit.  Sure, it’s got some expected numbers at the top, but the rest of the list is genius.  We’ve got some of the songs streaming for you, and the rest take you straight to youtube.  Follow the jump for full list.

Read More

We promised you a contest and here ya go!  For starters, you should already know that ATH fave Dutchess & The Duke are making their way to the Mohawk on December 12th.  If you’d like to attend the show with a friend, listen up as the details for this contest are very simple.  Simply leave us a comment or hit us up on twitter with your favorite D&D song and why.  That’s it!  Two lucky winners will receive a spot on the guest list with a +1 for that special someone.  We’ll hit you guys up over the weekend if you win so be sure to leave a valid email address.

Hooray!  We are now happy to anounce a killer show we will be helping out with at Mohawk in December.  One of our favorite bands of last year (#1 to be exact) Dutchess & The Duke are returning to Austin on December 12th and we couldn’t be more excited.  They will be joined on the stage by two other buzz bands: Oakland’s own Greg Ashley and Denton, TX boys Fergus & Geronimo.  The last time D&D were in Austin they played as an acoustic duo, but word has it that they are now touring with a full band to bring the rock!  Tickets will only run ya $8 so we really don’t know why you wouldn’t be there…  Plus it’s a Saturday night!  Check out some previews of this show with an album review of D&D’s debut album of 2008, one for their more recent LP Sunset/Sunrise, or an interview we ran the last time they made it to town.  Stay tuned for more details and a possible contest for tickets to the show.  In the meantime, check out one of our favorite songs from last year “Reservoir Park” and what will surely be in our top songs for this year “The River”.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download: Dutchess & The Duke – Reservoir Park [MP3]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download: The Dutchess and the Duke – The River [MP3]

We love the free MP3s and this sampler from Hardly Art on Amazon is loaded with 15 songs from bands on the indie label.  You’ll see a few unreleased demos and live tracks from ATH favorites Dutchess & The Duke, Le Loup, Pretty & Nice and others on Hardly Art.  Check it out.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download: Dutchess & The Duke – Reservoir Park [MP3]

What?   You still listen to THAT album?  That record is so 2004!  Well, that’s okay, because we really like that one too, which is why we decided to come up with a list of our favorite albums of the last decade (2000-2009).  Sure, these might not be YOUR favorite records, or the most critically acclaimed, but we sat down and really thought out every record from the past ten years that we keep coming back to in our collections.  You’re likely to disagree with some of these, and we won’t tell you we’re absolutely right we just know that these happen to be OUR favorites.  If you think we totally blew it here, feel free to tell us so, but be nice, as our egos are kind of fragile.  Follow the jump for more.

Read More